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Karolina Pliskova becomes No. 1, goes up on Times Square billboard

By Gale Moorman

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic plays a forehand during the Ladies Singles first round match against Evgeniya Rodina of Russia on day two of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic plays a forehand during the Ladies Singles first round match against Evgeniya Rodina of Russia on day two of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Becoming No. 1 often involves capturing a Grand Slam title and then some… but Karolina Pliskova didn’t go the traditional route and still became world No. 1.

When Karolina Pliskova was No. 3 in the world, she was playing comfortably. Knowing that winning a few more tournaments could make her No. 1, however, made her a bit unnerved.

She’d won in Brisbane, defeating France’s Alize Cornet. At the Qatar Total Open in Doha, Pliskova won over Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets and then again at the Aegon International.

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Pliskova felt that her time was coming soon. She made it to the semifinals of nearly half of the tournaments she’d played throughout the season so far. The Czech tennis star moved to No. 2 because the current No. 2, Serena Williams, is pregnant and will be out for the rest of the season.

She knew that if she could reach the French Open final she’d be number one, taking the spot from the current top-ranking player Angelique Kerber. Pliskova  has the habit of making excuses or not giving herself credit for overcoming hurdles and winning various matches.

"Pliskova admits though that “I’m too negative sometimes…and even on the court. So I want too much sometimes…”"

The fact that Pliskova has not won any Grand Slams might cause others to negate the fact that she’d ever be number one in the world, but not The Czech. She naturally dreamed that she’d win Wimbledon, but unfortunately that didn’t happen as she was upset in the second round by Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia.

She did reach No. 1 but only when Britain’s Johanna Konta defeated Simona Halep in the quarterfinals; that was her payoff. So now that Karolina Pliskova is number one in the World, if people are asked on the streets of New York City, ‘who is that tennis player on the billboard near Times Square?’, most might say they don’t really know much about her. She may not be as recognizable as Williams or Kerber, but she is Karolina Pliskova, the world No. 1 WTA player. Her pictures hang from the Walgreens billboard near Times Square and if she plays consistently to win matches and titles, more people will be familiar with her.

Next: Djokovic can benefit from Federer-type schedule

At this level of play, the Czech seems to be capable of defeating most of the top 5 and even 10 WTA players and will be more well known not for taking Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber’s place as number one, but for her achievements and titles on the WTA professional tennis tour.

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